Welcome to TRAVIS OUTDOORS, where children Explore, Sense, and Connect in a Classroom Without Walls

William B. Travis Elementary, an HISD public school, has been educating children for over 100 years.  Travis offers child-centered learning through its ‘Whole Child’ approach to education, encouraging students to be engaged and challenged in a creative and nurturing academic environment.  Learning and playing outside is essential to supporting this Whole Child.  Travis has a long-standing outdoor education program that celebrates recess, offers on-site gardening, organizes off-site camping and nature field-trips, and promotes healthy, active lifestyles.  Travis Outdoors includes the Margaret Blackstone Gardens, the oldest public school gardens in the State of Texas, a nationally-recognized SPARK Park, and on- and off-site outdoor education programs.

Our Travis Outdoors education program has been made possible by the generous funding and stewardship of school administrators, teachers, and the Travis Parent-Teacher Association across many generations.  However, critical infrastructure and curriculum-development commitments are still needed to bring our exciting vision to fruition.

Travis Outdoors aims to further cultivate our school’s green spaces and provide necessary lesson extensions that will facilitate student instruction in a classroom without walls.  In addition to infrastructure enhancements, we also plan to fuse technology with our green spaces, allowing for sharing curriculum and real-time environmental data with other schools and organizations within Houston, and beyond.  We are confident our outdoor education model stands to become a template and best practice that can be widely shared.

Please join us in furthering our Travis Outdoors vision with your ideas and crucial financial support.

Please Contact Us and Consider Donating Today [donation link forthcoming]!

travisoutdoors@traviselementary.org

George Hixson Travis Garden Lecturer & Travis Outdoors PTA Co-Chair (tel: 713.298.2238)

Lara Purser Travis Outdoors PTA Co-Chair (tel:  713.553.7887)